The Role of Geography Education in Promoting Ecological Civilization
摘要
This chapter focuses on the role of geography education in promoting ecological civilization, which is the Chinese pathway to sustainable development. It has been widely claimed that geography has a unique contribution to environmental education, as it provides holistic perspectives on the complex human-environmental relationships. The chapter aims to examine the integration of ecological civilization within Chinese geography education, including educational goals, curriculum content, teaching approaches, and assessment methods. The curricula emphasize fostering young people’s appreciation for human-environmental harmony as a central educational goal, which is integrated into substantial thematic subject knowledge. Situational teaching is a highlighted pedagogy that provides students an opportunity to analyze and address real-world environmental issues. Assessment focuses mainly on the knowledge of environmental topics, while it hopes to evaluate students’ appreciation for human-environmental harmony. The chapter concludes by discussing the challenges and future directions of geography education in advancing the ideas of ecological civilization.